Real Estate

Massachusetts Realtors More Positive Than a Year Ago

Realtors were concerned about flood insurance, the threat of the government shutdown and continued talk of the debt ceiling in the survey.

The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) said two indexes show realtors are more pleased with the real estate market than a year ago, but there is concern about the government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate.

The REALTOR® Market Confidence Index (RMCI) and the September REALTOR® Price Confidence Index (RPCI) in September were both up when compared to the same month in 2012.

The RMCI was 62.91 in September this year, compared to 57.73 a year ago. September was the 26th straight month showing year-over-year increases and the ninth month over the 60-point mark.

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However, realtors are not as positive as in August, when the score was 69.26. (Note: A “strong” market is considered 100 points, a “moderate” market is 50 points and a “weak” market is 0 points in the indexes). 

The RPCI, meanwhile, was at 70.27 in September, an increase from 64.41 in September 2012. It was the 20th straight month of year-over-year increases and seventh straight month over the 70-point mark. However, it was a decrease from 73.57 in August.

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“On a year-over-year basis, we continue to see good gains in positive sentiment in terms of both sales and prices,” said 2013 MAR President Kimberly Allard-Moccia, broker-owner of Century21 Professionals in Braintree. “However, confidence dipped in part from higher levels in August due to concerns about flood insurance, the threat of the government shutdown and continued talk of the debt ceiling.”

According to MAR:

“The Massachusetts REALTOR® Market Confidence Index (RMCI) and Price Confidence Index (RPCI) are based on monthly responses from a random sampling of Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® members on the state of the housing market. More specifically, the survey asks members two basic questions pertaining to the real estate business in their market area in Massachusetts.

  1. How would you describe the current housing market?
  2. What are your expectations of home prices over the next year?”


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